


Four-digit

by hantrovert



Category: Original Work
Genre: At least I tried, I tried to write comedy, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2019-09-15
Packaged: 2020-10-19 00:10:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20647994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hantrovert/pseuds/hantrovert
Summary: Prompt: your ability to see people's age in years as an invisible number above their heads has made you the perfect bouncer. One day you see a four-digit number.





	Four-digit

"Tell me, how old is she?" A guy with tied black hair pointed at one corner of the bar, the meant person was a girl with short brown hair and a glasses framing her face. She was petite, with an over-sized shirt—top two buttons unfastened—and a really short tight pants, she looked young—almost underage.

The other guy darted his eyes on the girl. It took a few seconds before he chuckled, "you wouldn't want to bang her, she's sixteen. How could the bouncer out there let her in?" He moved his eyes to the girl next to her, "but the one with yellow shirt, she's twenty."

"Thanks, man. I don't know what will I do without you." The tied black hair man left the barstool and walked to the two girls at the corner.

The other man sipped on his pineapple cocktail, humming amusedly. "I want a refill, please."

The bartender came with a smile, "did you just read people's age again, Gwen?"

The man—Gwen nodded, he observed as the bartender working with the drinks, a number of thirty-one popped above his head. "Daniel asked, and I answered, just that."

"Well, I still doubted that you could read ages, but you never guessed wrong." The bartender put the glass in front of Gwen, "here you go. You are not going to have some fun on your day off?"

Gwen smirked, "I really wanted to talk to that twenty-six-years-old woman by the dance floor but she looked wasted already. So I guess I'll enjoy cocktails tonight." He sipped on the cocktail again, "be grateful, not everyone could have my company like this, and many people would want one."

Gwen had always seen numbers above people's heads. He could not explain how—no one seen the numbers, it was just him. People would think he was just that good at guessing, but his _guesses_ about people's ages were always accurate. And people started to believe that it was true, Gwen Marley could see people's ages by numbers above their heads.

His ability made him a perfect bouncer, he worked in the bar from Friday to Monday—which was the usual busy days in bars and underage people tend to sneak into bars or nightclubs. But rules are rules, it was his job to send them home. He loved his job, it was easy for him, the pay was good, and the cocktail from this bar was extraordinary—and he could get it for free after his shift ended.

But on his days off he used his ability for different purposes. He had his own preference for woman's age he would hit on—he would never hit on underage girls or barely legal age. Supported by his good looks and sugar-coated mouth, he could get any woman he wanted. Gwen was a well-known lady killer.

"We got a new bartender lately, and he will work at your shift tomorrow." The bartender—Ryan stated. There was not much customer at the moment so they could chat with each other.

"As long as he made good cocktails for my after-work-drink I have nothing to complain."

Ryan hummed, "you will get good drinks, I guarantee that. Oh, and he's kind of your type." A customer came in and Ryan immediately proceeded their orders.

Gwen watched the bartender doing his job. "So, is he at least twenty-six-years-old, slightly shorter than me, has a nice smile, look hot when he smirks, and has a tongue piercing?" he amusedly asked the bartender. Gwen was openly a bisexual, and he had a very specific type and standards for both gender.

"That's very specific," Ryan laughed, "and as far as I know he does have a tongue piercing, and looks hot of course."

"Good enough." Gwen mumbled, "what's his name?"

Ryan finished the cocktail and handed it to the customer, "you will find out yourself tomorrow."

Gwen rolled his eyes, "fair enough."

-

Gwen turned the knob of the locker room, he was the first one there even though his shift was starting in twenty minutes. He grabbed his locker keys from his pocket and shoved his bag once it was open. He took out his uniform—a formal shirt with a blue vest and a bowtie. He started changing his casual clothes to his work attire.

He was in the middle of buttoning down his vest when the door swung open, a man he had never seen before walked in. It was the new bartender Ryan told him the day before. The guy had light brown hair—it looked fluffy—with long fringes it touched the tip of the guy's eyelashes, his eyes were dark brown and he had visible dark circles under his eyes. He looked rather young, probably a struggling college kid who had to do works to pay their tuition. But when Gwen looked up above his head to find out the numbers that would resemble his age, he found out something else. Well, it was numbers, but it _could not_ be the guy's age—it was a four-digit number.

The guy bowed politely. Gwen hadn't taken off his eyes from the number—four-three-twenty-six. "Hello, I'm a new bartender here, the name's Campanella Yuki." The guy—Yuki smiled, it was a nice smile. Gwen had to get his shits together.

"I've heard about you from Ryan." He finally took off his eyes from the numbers to the other's face. "I'm the bouncer, Gwen Marley." He continued buttoning down his vest, "hey, it might sound rude but you looked young. I'm a bouncer here so I just need to make sure you're legal age."

Yuki laughed, his chuckle was light and laced with a hum of amusement at the matter. "How professional," he commented and smiled—that sweet smile again. "Don't worry though, I get that a lot. People said Asians have babyfaces. But I swear I'm already twenty-six." Gwen could see a hint of tongue piercing when he talked, _it's his type_.

_What's with the forty-three then?_ It remained on the tip of Gwen's tongue. He had never seen a person with a three-digit number before, let alone a four-digit. Maybe it was a glitch? But he was not even a computer, how could _someone_ possibly get a glitch?

Yuki smiled and nodded politely and walked to his own locker at the corner of the room. Gwen's eyes automatically followed, the number was still there. It could not be his age, utterly impossible. It was only 2019 and Yuki was older than the holy Christ? People with that age should be a Homo Erectus something! They must have been extinct. Or maybe Yuki was God himself? No, that did not make sense. Or maybe he was the first person called Adam as in the bibles? Oh my God, he was staring the whole time and Yuki was stripping his casual clothes.

Gwen darted his eyes to the ceiling, tried not to look suspicious—and failed miserably.

"Do you have something else to ask? You looked like you're dying to ask me something." Yuki smirked as he put on a white shirt over his naked top.

Gwen's breath hitched, "no, don't mind me." _This is ridiculous_. "I'll just go outside and do my job. Good luck on your first day here." He excused himself from the room with a puzzled head.

_No, it must be a mistake._ He said so himself, he was twenty-six and not four-thousand-and-three-hundred-twenty-six years old. Gwen thought to himself not to overthink it. He looked around the bar, it started to get crowded. Thirty-eight, twenty-nine, twenty-four, forty-one, everyone's numbers looked like the usual, no one had a four-digit numbers—he wasn't _glitching_.

He rubbed his eyes with both hands and looked back to the bar, just to make sure. And yes, everything was people with two-digit numbers above their heads. He looked back at the locker room's door, but walked to the bar entrance instead.

The night went as usual at the front door. Underage people proudly showing off their fake IDs, but got sent home by Gwen because the fake ID could not fool his eyes. Some regulars came and had a small talk with him at the front door.

"Is it your birthday today?" Gwen asked at one regular that had twenty-four above her head, it was still twenty-three last week.

The woman chuckled, "no, it was yesterday actually, how could you tell though?"

_I could see people's age above their heads and yours just got one year older from last week_. Gwen would have explained it that way if people could understand that no, he was not joking, but unfortunately, he couldn't answer it that way. "You look like in a good mood tonight, look at how your skin is glowing." He smiled slyly.

"You think so?" she laughed shyly, "you know, I'm trying to impress you but you seemed to be busy. I'll talk to you later?" she winked and smiled amusedly. Another customer walked in and the woman had to move so Gwen could check on their IDs.

"Yeah it'll be crowded tonight, but I didn't mean I don't want to spend time with you, I just didn't want to lose my job," Gwen replied when the other customers walked into the bar.

The woman let out a hearty laugh, "sure. I'll go inside for now."

"Have fun, lady." Gwen showed her his usual lady-killer-smile. The woman's cheeks blushed but she hid it well.

His shift ended at three-am and it was time for the most waited drink time. He walked to the barstool and met Yuki there, the number flashed above his head remained the same and it somehow bothered Gwen a lot. He was itching to ask.

"How was your first day going?" Gwen asked casually as he claimed a seat on the stool.

Yuki sent him a smile, "great. I get good feedback on the drinks I made, some drunk people kept me entertained, and the music playing was a match to my tastes." Gwen couldn't take his eyes of the tongue piercing that made its appearance every time Yuki talked. He loved to see people with tongue piercing talk, and _preferably_ it led to them kissing in the near future.

"Can I have a drink? Anything you're proud enough to serve me." He smirked.

Yuki smirked back, and oh, Gwen never thought someone with baby face could look so _hot_. "Give me a minute." He started pouring the liquid inside of the bottle while Gwen watched him intently.

A few moments later Yuki served a Long Island Iced Tea to Gwen who took the glass gladly. He took a sip immediately while keeping eye contact with Yuki. He could taste vodka, gin, tequila, rum, triple sec, and cola splendidly blending together down his throat. They said Long Island Iced Tea was made for making memories, and sure he was making one. "This is a good one, this is a real good drink," Gwen mumbled.

"Thank you."

"Did you work as a bartender before? You seemed experienced."

Yuki nodded, "yes, I've been working as a bartender for four years but I keep switching bars for my own entertainment." He smiled.

Gwen hummed, "you love to go to new places?"

"Something like that."

Gwen looked up just above Yuki's head—the four-digit number. The itch to ask came back again. "Well, since you're working here right now we have to get along. Make yourself a drink and drink with me? I know your shift had ended just the same as mine."

Yuki chuckled and loosen his tie, "if you say so." He poured himself a vodka and sit next to Gwen at the barstool.

They drink mostly in silence, but they occasionally talk about work or something popped out on their mind—Gwen didn't ask about the numbers though. Yuki was very easy to talk to, and with the way he looks, he had the potential to be another lady-killer in the bar.

They went back to the locker room when it was four-am and returned to their respective homes with a simple see you later. No, Gwen didn't get to taste the tongue piercing on his, but at least he got Yuki's phone number and they had a bonding moment while drinking together.

-

The next day was another busy weekend in the bar. Gwen spent the most time manning the front door so he didn't get to see Yuki other than one time at the locker room before their shift started. So the drink after work was long waited, because it meant Gwen could have time to spend with Yuki again.

Yuki got along with other workers pretty well, as expected from someone who had moved to work from bar to bar. People liked him, he was nice and polite. More female customers came for him, probably from his previous bar. And it was great for the business, Gwen was not jealous or anything—he didn't felt that kind of affection towards the bartender, he just wanted a one or maybe ten nightstand(s) if possible.

But Gwen was not even sure if Yuki swung _that_ way, but then again, it was 2019 and practically no one was one hundred percent straight—and for your information, Gwen was _irresistible _for any gender. He just needed to do things he always did to make Yuki to take the hint. Besides the sexual tension, Gwen was dying to know what the hell was wrong with Yuki's number. No matter how hard he squinted his eyes, the number never changed. And it was just Yuki with the odd number, everyone had two digits and the highest number he ever saw was eighty-four—that grandpa next door at his apartment. Yuki didn't have a single wrinkle on his face, he couldn't be older than an eighty-four-years-old grandpa.

But Gwen could not see his own number even in the mirror. He might have seven digits number above his head but he'll never know because he couldn't see his own number. And everything made no sense, even how he was able to see people's age in numbers above their heads made no sense to begin with. There was no scientific explanation for his ability, and as far as he knew, he was the only one who saw the numbers. He had questioned his ability lots of times, but he was at the stage of acceptance. It made his job way easier anyway.

Anyway, about the one night stand, Yuki seemed to take the hint when Gwen purposely rested his hand over the other's thigh. And Yuki's smirk was a positive reaction Gwen had been waiting for. And so, they found themselves at Gwen's apartment room with their clothes messily thrown away in the process.

-

Tongue piercing was _definitely_ his kink now, Gwen thought to himself. He found himself spooning Yuki on his own comfortable bed, smiling amusedly when he thought of last night's event. The bartender was still sound asleep with his cheek rested on Gwen's bare chest, his shoulder rhythmically raised up and down along his breath. With this angle, he couldn't see the numbers above the other's head but it was not something he cared about at the moment, he was just going to appreciate the view.

Gwen was definitely a cuddle type, he loved to cuddle with people he slept with, watching them fall asleep before he did himself. The guy on his arm, Yuki was definitely beautiful when he was sleeping. His light brown hair messy and fluffy touching this bare tops, his long eyelashes looked perfect, and those swollen lips—breath-taking. Oh no, it had been a while since the last time he felt like this—admiring someone so hard he felt butterflies in his stomach. No feelings were needed for a one night stand, it was a piece of basic knowledge, and he knew it—he could manage his feelings pretty well. Or maybe he overestimated himself there.

Gwen ran his fingers through the bartender's hair, it was smooth and fluffy he could get used to it. The tiredness and drowsiness took over him a moment later.

He woke up with no one else but him on the bed, or actually, in his whole apartment.

-

"Hey," Gwen greeted Yuki who was already in the locker room when he walked in.

"Hi," Yuki replied with a smile. "Sorry I left without waking you up this morning."

Gwen opened his own locker and dumped in his bag, "oh, no problem. You could have stayed for brunch though. Were you in hurry?" he occasionally glanced at the other as he took off his shirt—a couple of hickeys on display courtesy to Yuki.

"Kind of? I have a cat at my place and I need to feed her exactly at six or she'll destroy the whole place." Yuki shrugged, "I didn't want to risk losing my home."

Gwen chuckled, "I have never had pets, but I could imagine the struggle."

Their shift started and they went to their respective spots. It was a long and tiring night, but in the end, Gwen and Yuki drinking together became a regular thing. Gwen wouldn't say he minded at all. But then there was another thing Gwen had to take care of other than the itch to ask about the numbers above Yuki's head—his feelings. He started to notice many details about Yuki. The tiny moles he had on his chin and sight above his left eye which was only visible when he was looking down or closing his eyes, the visible glint of metal attached to his tongue every time he talked, his pink lips looked soft and when it stretched to a smile—_beautiful_. Gwen really had to get his shits together.

"Do you listen to classical music?" Yuki asked out of nowhere when they were having their usual drink after the shift. It was the third week since Yuki worked in the bar and they had become closer, and actually had two one night stands already.

Gwen pulled the rim of the glass touching the tip of his lips, "not really, why?"

"Well, my name Campanella was taken from a classical piece called La Campanella by Lizst." Yuki explained, "it meant the little bell in Italian."

Gwen hummed, he didn't expect the bartender to talk about himself, it rarely happened. "It's a nice name in my opinion."

Yuki was probably getting drunk, it was his fourth glass of rum. That might be a logical reason for him to start talking about himself. Gwen was totally sober though, and he didn't plan to get drunk if he had to hear Yuki talking about himself. He wanted to know more about the bartender, and wanted to remember about all the details.

"Yeah, I love my name." Yuki nodded in approval, his face flushed red which meant that yes, he was drunk. "I loved classical music, it calmed me." Yuki glanced at Gwen, "you should try listening to it too."

"Maybe I will. I will definitely listen to La Campanella though."

Yuki let out a hearty laugh. It was bad for Gwen's heart.

-

It was their sixth not-so-one-night-stand at Gwen's apartment on their day off. Gwen didn't think he could keep this relationship platonic anymore. He had never slept with anyone but Yuki for the past two months since they met—he hoped he didn't lose his touch. But being with Yuki was comfortable and he felt like he belonged there, next to Yuki. He didn't know how the other's feelings though.

Gwen ran his fingers through the other's hair, it felt nice every time he did this. He looked up and the long-forgotten four-digit number flashed above the light brown hair. He tried to rub his eyes for the millionth time, if it was a glitch, why did it last so long?

However, this time the number changed. In fact, it turned to forty-three-twenty-seven. He blinked.

Gwen glanced at the digital clock on his bedside, it was precisely twelve-am.

It only meant one thing, it was Yuki's birthday today. He never know that until now.

"Happy birthday." He mumbled.

The boy on his arm shifted a little, "mm? Did you say something?"

"I thought you were sleeping." Gwen rubbed the other's bareback. Yuki responded with rubbing his cheek on Gwen's chest—cute. "Happy birthday," he repeated.

Yuki froze, his breath held, he blinked his eyes several times before raising his head to meet Gwen's eyes, "how did you know? I never told you about my birth date."

Gwen smiled and cupped Yuki's cheek with his hand, "I'm a little bit disappointed you didn't tell me, but I have my way."

Yuki didn't break the eye contact, his drowsiness forgotten as he looked at him with suspicious eyes. "Did you peek on my ID card?" _because he swore his fake ID had fake birthdate_.

"No, I would not mess up with your personal belongings."

Yuki shifted and was now completely sitting up on the bed, the blanket covering his torso dropped to his back. "Then how?" he started to get nervous.

Gwen didn't know why Yuki was looking so weird about this, maybe it had something to do with his four-digit age? Maybe tonight was the long-awaited moment of truth?

"Will you believe me if I said I could see people's age in numbers above their heads?" Gwen asked in a low tone, unsure about what reaction he would get from Yuki, but he didn't want to lie about this to the bartender.

Yuki shook his head, "what?"

Gwen shifted to a sitting position and faced Yuki at the same eye level, "I could see people's ages in number above their heads."

"Like character stats in games?"

Gwen nodded, "something like that, but only their ages."

"How?"

"I don't know, it's always been like this since I could remember." Gwen shrugged, he didn't have any logical answer for this question—because there was none.

Yuki darted his eyes to the bedsheet, avoiding Gwen's eyes, his hands clasping and fidgeting—something Gwen noticed he does when he was nervous, why was he nervous? "What's my number?" Yuki's voice hitched at the end.

Gwen glanced at the number for a few seconds to make sure it didn't change, "honest answer?" his heart thumping loudly because he had been dying to know why Yuki had a four-digit number, and he might find out soon. Yes, Gwen had hypothetically thinking Yuki was the first man Adam, or the holy God himself. But if one of his wild assumptions was true, he would still be surprised—_please, don't say he was God_, it'd be weird to have sex with God, not to mention they had done it six-times already.

Yuki froze, his eyes glued down on the bedsheet and not meeting Gwen's. They went silent for a minute which felt like an eternity for both of them. "Yes." Yuki finally found his own voice, but it was cracked.

Gwen's hands were shaky but he reached out to cup Yuki's face with both hands, bringing the other's eyes to look at his, "forty-three-twenty-seven." He answered without breaking their eye contact. He could hear his own heartbeat, and he wouldn't be surprised if Yuki could too.

He could see horror in Yuki's eyes like he was being exposed or something. The truth was finally out in the air, but Gwen silently hoped his wild assumption would not be true—that he _might_ be having a crush on God people worshipped, that would be weird in another level of weirdness.

Yuki didn't say anything so Gwen just explained, "I thought it was a mistake, I never saw a four-digit number before and I assumed it was a glitch and tried to forget about it. But the number never changed, it was still forty-three-twenty-six before midnight, and I didn't know what it meant to the point that I'm scared to ask."

"Are you scared of me?" Yuki asked with a shaky voice, his eyes blocked with tears threatening to fall. It was a heartbreaking scene to see. "Don't be scared of me, please." His lips quivered, tears fell as he blinked.

Gwen hurriedly wiped the tears away when it fell down, "no, I wasn't scared, I was just confused."

"Don't leave me." Yuki's tears unconsciously fell down his cheek, the rim of his eyes turned red. "I'm not going to drink your blood or eat your brain."

Gwen was confused and speechless, Yuki didn't say anything about the number was wrong—didn't even attempt to tell Gwen that _no, he was only twenty-seven_—and he was crying and his bright pink pouty lips were trembling and he looked cute. There was too much going on in his head he didn't know how to process the information. So he hugged the bartender tightly, whispering _I won't leave, please don't cry. Oh my God, why would I even think you will drink people's blood or eat their brains. _

Yuki gasped for air in between the sobs, a bunch of memory of people leaving him flashed right before his eyes just like another episode of panic attack, and the only thing on his mind right now was how much he didn't want Gwen to leave his side—he hugged him back. He had been through countless farewell, abandoned countlessly, and being left by his loved ones. He _had lived_ for over four thousand years, much more than four thousand separations, and he didn't want to have another one in the near future. "Don't leave me, please, I'm sorry for fooling you."

Gwen patted Yuki's back, "I'm here don't worry, and no, not you're not fooling anyone. I am not going to leave you."

"Really?" Yuki started to calm down, even though the tears on his cheeks had not stopped falling down yet. He pulled himself from the hug and meet the other's eyes—and saw a worried expression there. "I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry about." Gwen smiled comfortingly.

It took a moment for Yuki to collect his thoughts. "Gwen, it's true, I'm four thousand years old. I lied to you that I am a twenty-six years old man, there was something to be sorry about." Yuki pouted, Gwen had to hold himself back from kissing away the pout from his face.

"I know from the start, it was me who didn't ask." He pecked the pouty lips anyway. It wasn’t the first time, but he put a lot of his feelings into the short peck. "I mean, it made me confused but it didn't really change the fact that I am falling in love with you."

Yuki's eyes widen. Gwen just stared at him amusedly, caressing his thumb over the other's cheek and trailed over his jawline. Yes, he definitely loved this person no matter how the fuck he was four thousand something years old. His ability to see people's ages made no sense, Yuki's age made no sense, therefore they would match each other.

"You love me?" Yuki pronounced the word love as if it was a foreign language. "You're not freaking out over the fact that I was older than your grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand parents?"

Gwen laughed, "there were so many grands but I don't care about that."

Yuki's lips finally formed into a smile, "I can't believe you."

"Excuse me? I'm not the one with superficial age."

"I did not have a superficial age." Yuki chuckled, "but I love you too."

Gwen kissed Yuki once again, with much affection he always had for him, and Yuki kissed back. He brought back the bartender laying on the bed, pulled the blanket back over their shoulders once again.

"Tell me how you didn't look like those homo erectus I've been seeing in history books since middle school."

-

Gwen took over the truth really well. He had an ability which science couldn't explain, there must be other people who had unexplainable abilities too. Yuki was one of them, he didn't know how he was immortal just like Gwen didn't know how he got his ability. But honestly, being immortal? It sounded way cooler than his ability. And fortunately, Yuki was _not_ a God—he was just a normal human who somehow had immortal life and he didn't even know how to break it, he said so himself. It made Gwen's anxieties fading away.

His new favorite thing was to hear Yuki's stories. He had been through the life without electricity, there were no cars so they used horses to travel around, he witnessed the world wars, he was there when La Campanella first performed, he had lived in twenty different countries, and there were many other interesting stories. Along with those, there were also sad stories where Yuki had seen his loved ones leaving him one by one—he couldn't remember his parents looked like anymore, were they a typical homo erectus just like in history books? He didn't remember. He never aged, he physically remained as a twenty-five years old man—dermatologists hate him.

Yuki's name was not Campanella Yuki before, he could not even remember his born name anymore. He changed his name every thirty years, but he had kept Campanella as his last name since he attended Liszt's performance which was only something-hundred years ago. He kept changing places, if he stayed at one spot too long, people will notice that he didn't age.

It was Yuki's first time meeting someone with unexplainable ability though. He thought he was alone, he had been so depressed he tried to kill himself—only to wake up in the morning with lots of blood around him, and a slight anemia. He really wished he could spend his immortal life together with someone, someone who would _never_ leave him. He got tired of separation, he got tired of Alexa this was so sad play Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata 1st movement.

But at this right moment with Yuki snuggling in Gwen's embrace was good enough. He wanted to enjoy this moment to the fullest, he didn't want to forget this moment ever.

-

There were lots of sad separations, but there were also happy encounters. Time will heal the scars on his heart, but the memories never left. He would never forget about his encounter with Gwen, a man with unbuttoned vest who stared at his naked torso just a minute after they met at the locker room that day.

-

END

**Author's Note:**

> this is my very first original work I ever posted on ao3. I hoped it could get more attention than my blog.  
you could send your feedback to my Instagram hantrvpls or twitter leostoes_  
thanks for reading!


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